# Accommodations and Accessibility ## expand\_more The Harvard School of Graduate Education is committed to creating an environment that values disability as a part of the diverse range of identities within our student body. The mission of Accessibility Services, within the Office of Student Affairs, is to provide students with equal educational opportunity and full participation in all programming at HGSE and within the wider Harvard Community. Our goal is to remove educational and co-curricular barriers to education so that students may fulfill their professional aspirations during their time at HGSE. We also provide educational opportunities for the community to promote disability as a part of the diversity continuum. Accessibility Services engages students in an interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations. If you have questions, please contact . All accommodations are individualized, flexible, and determined based on the nature of the disability and the academic environment. ## Requesting Accommodations Open all sections Close all sections ### Intake Form expand\_more To begin the accommodations process, please request an intake form by emailing . (If you are writing from a non-Harvard email, please include your name in the subject line.) An automated email with the intake form will be sent to you within 1-2 business days. After you submit your intake form, the Assistant Director for Accessibility will contact you to schedule an access meeting. ### Documentation Guidelines expand\_more Students should work to obtain documentation that states their diagnosis, functional limitations, and any recommendations for accommodations from a licensed provider. Accommodations are provided using an interactive process in conjunction with appropriate documentation from a licensed provider. The licensed provider should have professional expertise in the disability. **Please read the** [**documentation guidelines**](https://osa.gse.harvard.edu/documentation-guidelines)**.** ### Access Meeting expand\_more Students should set up an Access Meeting with the Assistant Director of Accessibility Services who will meet with them to discuss their educational experience and the impact of their disability in different environments. Accommodations are determined based on an interactive process between the student and the Accessibility Services Office. ### Accommodation Letter expand\_more The Accessibility Services staff will create an accommodation letter for the student with approved accommodations. Any accommodations that are not listed in the accommodation letter should be referred to Accessibility Services to determine if the accommodation is reasonable. ### Email and Meet with Faculty expand\_more The student emails their professor their accommodation letter and sets up a meeting with their faculty and/or teaching team to discuss how their disability impacts their educational experience. ## Timeline for Accommodations and Accommodations Letters The process for receiving accommodations is not a same day process. Therefore, the turnaround time from the time an intake form has been submitted to when the accommodations letter is sent to the student may take up to 1-3 weeks. Therefore, students hoping to receive accommodations before the start of the term should apply with this timeframe in mind. A student can register for accommodations at any point during their time at HSGE, but accommodations are not retroactive.